All Our Firsts 14 - The First Christmas to Remember
by AkinaSky
Summary: Stiles is home for the holidays but he doesn't have a gift for Derek and he is freaking out. This is an established Sterek in the All Our Firsts series.


**The First Christmas to Remember**

 _All Our Firsts_

 **Author's Note: So sorry this is so late. Real life has been keeping me down but I love you guys who have stuck with my boys! Looking for more possible firsts to share. Review and give me some prompts for other firsts you would like to see.**

Stiles slid open the door to the loft, calling out "Aced it!" to an apparently empty room. He wasn't really surprised since he knew that Derek was supposed to be working. He was just hopeful. He dropped his backpack and suitcase full of dirty laundry just inside the door and headed back to dig through the dresser for one of Derek's long sleeved Henley's and switched it for his shirt, throwing that on the bed.

Stiles could stay here and wait to see his fiancé but he didn't want to. He grabbed up his jacket and headed back out again. Stiles hopped back into the jeep, though after the long drive from Berkley, he didn't really want to get back into the vehicle. Thankfully it was a short drive and he jumped out of the vehicle. He didn't worry about locking it since there was no point, everyone knew that the blue jeep belonged to the Sheriff's kid and they wouldn't touch it, especially when it was in the parking lot of the station. Stiles walked inside and waved at the deputy behind the desk and headed back to where his dad and Derek were in the Sherriff's office. Parrish and Derek's partner, Eugene Bowmen were sitting together. Stiles walked a couple more steps and Derek caught his scent and politely pulled away from the conversation.

Derek turned and smiled at him and Stiles couldn't stop the grin in exchange. Derek always looked so happy when Stiles came home. Sometimes when Derek looked at him like that, Stiles couldn't breathe and when Derek wrapped him up in his arms Stiles sank into the embrace. "Hey Der, I missed you."

"You're here until New Year's, right?" Derek asked, sounding a little desperate.

"Yup, I aced my finals and the semester starts up again in about two weeks."

Derek's arms tightened a little for a second before he released Stiles and he watched his dad walk over to them with that shit-eating grin on his face. Stiles grinned and hugged the older man as well before he greeted a couple of the other deputies. The rest of them were known to him, several were barely older than Stiles himself but so many of the deputies were lost in the past couple years.

"Well I am not going to make a habit of letting Derek go every time you show up here so you are just going to have to smooch now and Deputy Hale is going to get back to work."

Stiles gave his dad a sloppy salute, kissed Derek again and turned to head out of the office.

"Hey?" Derek called out.

Stiles turned, "Yeah?"

"I love you."

"I know," Stiles said with a wink and headed back out to the jeep wondering what he should do. Scott and Lydia were both coming home, Lydia is probably already back in town since she tends to finish up her school work as quickly as Stiles did so far. Scott was a little slower when he did the work he needed to do. And without Stiles with him, Scott had to do it alone but they had ended up going to different schools.

Instead he went back to the loft and started unpacking. Stiles shoved a load of laundry into Derek's washing machine then moved to plug his computer into the surge protector next to the desk Derek put together for him for when he was there. Once that was done he grabbed his phone and opened a new notepad and started making notes about who needed Christmas presents. He found a lot of his gifts on Black Friday when he went with Derek. There was a new videogame for Scott that he'd been salivating over for months now but he'd been on a pretty tight budget so Stiles knew his best friend didn't have it yet. There was a tour book for Europe for Malia since she was going with her adopted father, having finally made the plan and bought the tickets. She was extremely excited and Peter was possibly going to meet up with her for some 'father/daughter' awkwardness. Lydia was getting a first edition autographed copy of one of her favorite scientists because she was the hardest person to shop for since there was no way her clothing was in his budget and she didn't really need anything. His dad was getting a really nice pocket watch with his name engraved on the inside, something he's wanted for a long time but never willing to buy for himself.

All of those gifts were wrapped already and ready to go but the one person he'd been searching for and had nothing for yet was Derek. His fiancé wasn't someone who collected things or belongings. He didn't have a favorite animal or color and certain things that he loved. He loved people, Derek cared more about family and people than anything else in life so Stiles was left wracking his brain worried that Derek wasn't going to have anything to open on Christmas day. They didn't even celebrate last year, he got Derek something silly from the store and he smiled and kissed Stiles. This time, he couldn't let that happen. Derek has been the best boyfriend ever and the best fiancé, Stiles needed to do this right. He waited long enough to switch the clothes over to the dryer before he went back out again and drove to the nearby mall and started walking around. He looked through several stores, wondering what the hell he was supposed to do. Stiles couldn't bear this gift being a flop. He looked down at the simple tungsten silver ring and wondered if Derek wanted something to show that they were both taken. Stiles headed to a jewelry store and took a look at some of the men's rings. One of the clerks came forward but Stiles just waved him off. Stiles wasn't expecting to find anything that would work, Derek couldn't wear silver and gold wasn't something Derek really liked. He was about to turn around again and leave when he caught sight of something black but it was shiny. Stiles turned back and looked closer and he saw the etched pattern. It was a knot system around the edges and in the center was a heart with a crown on top of it held between two hands.

"That is the Claddagh design, do you know it?" the clerk asked.

Stiles shook his head, "What is it?"

"It's an Irish wedding band, it stands for love, loyalty and friendship. The ring is made of tungsten so it won't rust. We actually rarely have rings like this in our inventory but they were doing a special on these engravings but this one was returned. Did you need a certain size? Interested in looking a little closer?"

Stiles rattled off Derek's size and the clerk hemmed and hawed for a moment as she took the ring out of the case and handed it to Stiles. He held it in his palm and felt the weight of it. It was almost comforting, especially as it hitched up against the ring Stiles was wearing on his ring finger. He nodded to the lady and asked when it would be done getting resized and she said a couple of days, definitely before Christmas, so he paid for the ring and gave her the phone number for when it was ready for pick up. He continued walking through the mall, got lucky and found a leather necklace with a little pouch that would hold the ring when Derek was shifted. They had discussed using Stiles's engagement ring as his wedding band, they would just remove the ring for the ceremony whenever they had it. They could do the same with Derek's, if he likes it. God, Stiles hoped he liked it.

Stiles headed back to the loft and put in another load of laundry, folded the clean laundry and put it into the drawers that were there for him. He hadn't stayed with his dad at all the last couple of times he'd been home. They would be spending a lot of time with him but Stiles would be staying with Derek for the break. He couldn't help feeling like all this happened really quickly and he loved Derek and couldn't wait to call the werewolf his husband but sometimes it was like he couldn't be his dad's little boy anymore.

He hoped that wasn't true.

While Stiles waited for the rest of his clothes to finish, he texted Scott and Lydia. As he suspected Lydia was already back in town and apparently was already in bed with whoever her newest sweetie was because all she said was 'incommunicado' which was short hand that they used when they didn't want to tell each other what or who they were with. Stiles used it when he and Derek had been apart for too long and the werewolf was desperate for him. When Stiles was just as desperate for Derek.

Scott didn't respond for a long time and when he did, it was to say he wasn't home yet so Stiles went back to his laptop and opened the book lists for his next classes. Stiles opened one of the e-reader versions he already had and started reading, making notes as he moved through the first couple of chapters in the first book then moved on to the next. He got up a few more times to dry the remains of his laundry and put them away.

Stiles was listening to music and reading when the door opened and he turned to smile as Derek came into the loft. His fiancé was already jerking at the buttons on his uniform shirt and Stiles tripped over the legs of the chair and fumbled with the earbuds so he could stop Derek's busy fingers.

Derek frowned, "What?"

Stiles smiled, "I want to take it off you. I so rarely get to take your uniform off." Stiles leaned in and nipped at the edge of Derek's ear, scraping his blunt teeth across Derek's jaw and throat, making the older man th

"You take my uniform off all the time, when you're here on the weekends."

"But its not enough, this separation. This time away for school and everything, sometimes I don't like it at all. I want to wake up with you every morning and go to sleep with you every night. Period."

Derek smiled, "I know love but its what you need and its what you were born to be. You were never going to be still, you are to smart for that. So we are going to deal with this for now and it's going to be okay. Its tolerable that it sucks right now, I am going to have you at the end of it."

Stiles smiled, trying desperately not to tear up because Derek always seemed to know exactly what to say to make him feel better. Derek never made him feel stupid for thinking these things, just hugged Stiles and was present with him. He wrapped his arms around Derek's shoulders, "I love you Sourwolf."

Stiles enjoyed his time off from school, lazing in bed with Derek or spending time with his dad. Stiles played games with Scott, hung out with Malia and Lydia. Then as Christmas got closer, Stiles started worrying that the jewelry place wasn't going to call then on December 23rd, they called and he went to pick it up. It was just as perfect as he thought it was the first time he'd seen it. He took the box and nodded to the clerk, a different one with a nametag that said her name was Rose. She assured him that if the ring didn't fit well, free adjusting was part of the price.

He took the small bag and headed back to the loft to wrap the ring box and tuck it away with the rest of the gifts. The Stilinski, the McCall family and Derek were all converging on the McCall house as well as Lydia and Malia for Christmas eve, then the families would have time together on Christmas day. Scott and Melissa were going to see Scott's dad, Malia was spending Christmas with her adopted father. Lydia's parents were civil enough to have Christmas together. Derek was of course joining Stiles and his dad.

Stiles was going to save the present for Christmas Day because that present wasn't meant for everyone and if Derek didn't like it, Stiles didn't want to force his acceptance by putting him in front of a crowd. Derek had learned a lot about speaking up when he needed to but Thanksgiving was a great example that when he was surrounded, even with people he trusted, it was tough for him to say what he needed to say. Stiles didn't think he could handle the embarrassment if Derek didn't want to wear it.

Later they were watching some television when Derek tightened his arm around Stiles's shoulder and asked, "Are you going to tell me what has you all freaked out?"

Stiles jolted in surprised, not that it should have been a surprise because Derek knew him better than anyone. And that was without werewolf senses on top of it. "Ummm," he stalled.

"You don't have to tell me, I just know that something's bothering you. If you want to tell me then you can."

Stiles nodded and tucked his head into Derek's shoulder, hoping that would be the end of it but he should have known better. His agitation only got worse and only five minutes went by before Derek paused the movie and Stiles scrambled to his feet, wringing his hands together. "This is so stupid."

"What?" Derek asked with a frown.

"Me being such a freaked lunatic about the weirdest things. Thinking that you are going to hate anything I get you for Christmas, not to mention its also your birthday but I know you didn't really want to celebrate. I hope that you can learn to celebrate your birthday someday but I won't push. I just want to be as amazing of a fiancé to you as you are to me."

Derek smiled softly, "You are. Stiles, what's this about?"

Stiles jogged over to the presents and pulled out the small box, leaving the bag. If Derek wanted the ring then the other gift would be good for tomorrow but this was the best he was going to get. "I didn't know what to get you. I saw this and I don't know, I just thought that maybe I could do something for you. I should have thought this through, I should have made a bigger effort to figure out what you would like but I saw this and I thought you might like it. I wanted it—" suddenly Derek was in front of him, pressing a gentle finger to Stiles's lips to stave off more nervous chatter.

Derek leaned in and replaced the finger with his lips for a soft kiss, "Can I open it before you convince me to not want it?"

Stiles nodded and handed the ring over then flapped his arms, "Wait, sit please?"

Derek sat down on the couch and Stiles moved to kneel down in front of him, between Derek's legs. The warmth of his lover's body was comforting as he reached out and pulled Derek's left hand between both of his. "Derek Hale, I know you know this but you are the most important person in my life and I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with you. You are one of the most caring, loyal and patient men I know and I don't want to be passive in this. I want you to be with me as much as you want me to be with you. I wanted this to show you that. Okay?" He moved Derek's other hand, the one holding the box into Derek's lap and sat back and nodded.

"I love you Stiles," Derek whispered, squeezing his hand then released it so he could unwrap the gift. He pushed aside the wrapping as Stiles tapped on Derek's calf then he opened the box with a snick and looked over the ring then to Stiles. He slipped the ring out of the container and held it up to see the design.

"It means love, loyalty and friendship, all the things that I promise to give to you every day for the rest of my life. I promise to be your lover and your partner. I promise to stand beside you no matter what. And I promise to always be your friend, someone you can trust as long as I am breathing."

Derek reached out and tugged Stiles into his lap, taking Stiles's lips in a deep wet kiss. Stiles pressed close, wrapping his arms around Derek's shoulders for a long lush embrace. When Derek pulled away, Stiles frowned "What?"

"I would really like it if you put this ring on my finger," Derek winked.

Stiles chuckled and did as he was asked; the band caught on Derek's knuckle then slid into place perfectly. Stiles's chest tightened as he squeezed Derek's hand. "You are so patient when I am being a nervous idiot. I just can't imagine doing any of this without you anymore."

"If I didn't love all of you I wouldn't have asked you to marry me. I hope someday the anxiety stops or at least loosens its hold on you but I am in love with you right this minute. I don't need to be praised for patience, love makes it easy."

Stiles flushed, "Sap."

"You love it."

"Yeah that's true," Stiles chuckled.

"I love it Stiles, and what it represents. I love carrying a piece of you, something that declares that we belong to each other. I am all for symbols."

Stiles scrubbed his fingers down Derek's tattoo, "No kidding. You don't need to burn this one into your skin though, okay?"

"Okay," Derek chuckled, "You wanna go to bed? We have to head over to the McCall's house early tomorrow."

Stiles agreed and they went to bed. They went through their normal routine and got into bed on their side of the bed, meeting in the middle. Derek turned away from Stiles's chest and Stiles reached over him and linked his left hand with Derek's hand, letting their rings press together and sighed happily into Derek's shoulder. He pressed a kiss to his fiancé's shoulder and let Derek's easy breathing lull him into unconsciousness.

The McCall house was bursting with people by the time they got there around eleven. Noah was already there and Scott was in the living room where Stiles rushed over and tackled the other werewolf. Derek walked into the kitchen and put down their contributions to the early dinner they were planning. There would be gift exchanging before hand then they would have their mixed heritage meal. Melissa and Scott tended toward Mexican dishes, Noah was bringing something Polish that everyone loved having at the holidays and the others were bringing various dishes and desserts. Derek and Stiles brought a tiramisu dessert that Derek messed up three times before he got it right for this day.

Melissa smiled and leaned in to press a kiss to Derek's cheek, he smiled in return. Melissa was one of the more contentious relationships for Derek in the beginning, because Scott hated Derek so much after he was turned. Now though, especially since he started dating Stiles, she'd warmed up to him considerably. She may have warmed up to him before because of all the times Derek saved her son's life but Derek didn't really know.

Other people arrived, filling the space with loud adults and teenagers trying to talk over everyone else. Derek sat in the kitchen, watching as Stiles rushed around helping Melissa and bossing his dad around. He looked down at the ring Stiles had given to him last night and smiled. He didn't know how Stiles could ever think he wouldn't want a ring. Derek had never mentioned gifts or rings because he didn't really know what he wants. Stiles was such a boisterous and easy person to be with, to shop for and everything it was tough to remember sometimes that Stiles would want to give him things.

After the fire and being on the run, living in shitty places to survive that it was so much easier when he didn't want anything. Last night wasn't just anxiety about the ring, it was a bigger thing that he was going to have to work on and talk to Stiles about. He hadn't celebrated his birthday in years, and didn't want to. Stiles loved having his birthday and making it a big affair so he figured he could distract Stiles with his enjoyment of spoiling him. Stiles wasn't distracted though and he wanted to be able to give Derek things that he would love.

They hadn't really dealt with this before, Valentine's Day was overshadowed with the witch poisoning him. They didn't really celebrate Christmas together last year but this was something he had to work on for Stiles, and for himself.

"Hey? You okay?" Noah asked as he walked over to sit next to Derek. Noah pressed his hand to Derek's shoulder and Derek could scent the concern and love wafting off of him.

"Yeah, just weird being here. Being with pack and family, it's been so long."

Noah nodded, "I remember the years after Claud died, we didn't have birthdays or Christmas or anything that first year and coming back to something normal a couple years later was tough. Just be patient with yourself and take breaks if you need them."

Derek looked at his fiancé, "I don't think breaks are something Stiles knows about."

Noah squeezed his shoulder again, "He goes and goes because he doesn't know another way. With you though, you balance each other really well. This isn't for him though, this recommendation is for you. Derek, take care of yourself or you can't take care of him. Take a break if you need to, go to the bathroom and sit on the toilet or go for a walk and let him know what you need."

Derek smiled, "I was just thinking about that. We are both no good at saying what we need until the other needs them too. I'm going to have to keep working on it."

"Yes," Noah nodded, "You have time to work it through Derek. We're all here with you."

"Thanks Dad," Derek whispered, flushing as Noah pulled him into one of those Stilinski style tight hugs for a second then he was off again.

So when it got to be to much, Derek would step outside or press a kiss to Stiles's neck and let him know he was going upstairs for a few minutes. He didn't want Stiles to worry but he took the time he needed. He took the time so when he was in the madness of family and pack, Derek enjoyed it. They opened presents, everyone shouting in excitement when gifts were revealed. Derek only purchased a few gifts; a nice gift basket for Melissa with a spa day certificate for hosting them, Noah received an old record that he'd been looking for and hadn't been able to find and Stiles received a backpack featuring Batman, Robin and Catwoman but it was unique since it had several other superheroes that didn't belong in the Batman story. Under each of the characters were stitched names; Stiles as Batman and Scott as Robin (to which the best friend booed companionably) and Erica Reyes was under the Catwoman. Stiles rubbed his fingertip over each of the names hidden in the design; Boyd, Lydia, Malia and Kira were also featured in various places with their own superheroes. Stiles could name all of them but Derek couldn't so he didn't bother trying. Stiles just hugged him.

"Open it," Derek urged.

"There's more? Derek, this is awesome."

Derek shrugged and Stiles unzipped the bag to find letters overflowing the opening. Stiles frowned and looked up, "What is this?"

"For every night you weren't here, I wrote you a letter. I thought this was a good time to give them. Its nothing big, kind of like a synopsis of the day, probably nothing knew since we talk all the time."

Stiles got up and came over to him and pressed a quick hard kiss to Derek's mouth, "Shut up and hear me you Sourwolf! This is awesome, you are the greatest man ever. Love you."

"I know," Derek said and chuckled when Stiles shoved him. They'd seen Star Wars together enough to use the Han Solo joke whenever it suited them. Stiles had turned it into a game where they take turns Han Soloing each other and Derek rolled his eyes and played along because he did love Stiles so freaking much.

When he opened his other gift from Stiles, Derek smiled at his fiancé and said thank you. He didn't know how Stiles found something so simple so he wouldn't have to worry about losing his ring. His mother and father had done the same thing with their rings until they had the ring tattooed on their fifth anniversary. There was no way that Stiles knew that but because he knew Derek, because he accepted him as a werewolf.

And this was one of the best Christmases he'd had in a very long time. Maybe next year they could even have a birthday party for him too.


End file.
